1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spunlaced fabric comprising a nonwoven fibrous layer hydraulically entangled with an array of elastic yarns. More particularly, the invention concerns such a fabric wherein the elastic yarns are elastic combination yarns. The fabrics are suited for use in protective clothing, bandages, parts of diapers, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spunlaced fabrics are known. Such fabrics are prepared by conventional hydraulic entanglement techniques and comprise a nonwoven fibrous layer and an array of elastic are known. For example, Evans, U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706, discloses such a spunlaced fabric wherein at least one layer of staple fibers is hydraulically entangled with an array of continuous filament yarns. The patent specifically discloses in Example 56, Sample e, a spunlaced fabric made of two layers of polyester staple fibers and an array of separate, parallel, 70-denier bare spandex yarns that were stretched about 200% and held at that extension during the hydraulic entanglement treatment. Sample "e" was described as "a bulky, puckered fabric with high elasticity in the warp direction". However, the present inventor found that such hydraulically entangled nonwoven fabrics, made with an array of bare spandex yarns, become damaged by repeated stretching. Such stretching causes the bare elastic yarns to become loose and retract into the fabric, there causing the fabric to lose its elasticity.
Elastic combination yarns are known. Such yarns usually comprise at least two components, an elastic yarn component and a second yarn component of relatively inelastic (or "hard fiber") strands. Such known yarns include wrapped yarns, covered yarns, plied yarns, false twisted yarns, air-jet interlaced yarns, air-jet entangled yarns and the like. However, such yarns are not known to have been hydraulically entangled with a fibrous layer to form spunlaced fabric.